Finnieston

My Exhibition, Year On

When I started a draft for this entry, the opening sentence begun with “it’s been over a month since my exhibition”. Here we are, and it’s been now exactly a year since the event, so I guess it’s about time I made an attempt at finishing this post.

While I have taken part in some collective showings of various works previously, “People” was my first solo exhibition. Whenever I was asked whether I’d ever do a solo show, I always said it was unlikely unless I had the right space and the right people around me and did it for the right reasons (rather than just for the sheer vanity of seeing one’s name on display). As it happened, all of these variables converged last year - The Vacant Space is a really cool gallery in a great area (Finnieston) and my friend Claire Stewart, a photography lecturer at City College of Glasgow, agreed to curate the project. I also managed to get Via-Duct on board for marketing and design, Skylark PR to help with the public relations side of things and secured the backing of Resonance Capital who sponsored the prints (done by the brilliant folk at Deadly Digital). With this stellar team in place I thought “why the hell not?”

I had first meetings with Claire back in April 2019, when we started to narrow down the selection of photographs to be shown. I trust her judgement completely and knew she wouldn’t sugar-coat anything just because we were pals. The challenge was to find a set of images that worked well as a collective, but where each photo would also stand on its own merit. We started with around 160 photographs which I thought were my strongest, and reduced the lot to a nifty fifty. I had that 50 printed, and from these, we boiled down our choices to the final 25 (it’s so much easier to make your picks and cuts when you can see physical images laid out in front of you). There were a few photographs that eventually got replaced as the exhibition was taking shape in the course of the following months, but the core was there.

I’m not going to lie, during the weeks leading up to the opening night I was shitting myself each time I thought about it. There’s comfort and safety in flying under the radar and not putting yourself out there too much. You know, you’re making a decent living doing what you love; work is steady and interesting more often than not; your Instagram following is modest but you learned to live with that. People don’t really have a chance to criticise you too much. Splashing your name in capital letters above a gallery door is very much an invitation to be judged, for people to fold their arms and go “who the fuck does he think he is now?”. I did however want to raise my profile a bit, perhaps attract new kinds of clients. There was also a very selfish and personal reason - I was turning 40 later that year, a milestone I was very much dreading, and I thought that having an exhibition would give me something exciting to look forward to. I know it sounds a tad dramatic perhaps but let me tell you, midlife crisis is REAL. At least I didn’t buy a motorcycle.

Anyway, the opening night ended up being one of the high points in my life, truly. The gallery was packed with friends and people I worked with over the years (we eventually spilled onto the street due to lack of space) and I was reminded that my job is as much about taking pictures as it is about making genuine connections with people. I sometimes think the latter part is actually what I love most about being a photographer. At the end of the night, there wasn’t a single canapé (thank you Fèist) or a drop of Prosecco left. Nobody asked who the fuck did I think I was either, so I considered the whole endeavour a success!

The exhibition ran for just under a week and in retrospect, I think I should’ve had it on for a bit longer. Still, it achieved pretty much what I had hoped it would - I got some exposure, gained a few new clients and it was a brilliant experience all in all. I sold quite a few prints as well which came as a surprise (I was told portraiture didn't sell). It was also really interesting to see people react to my work. When you’re a musician, for example, you get up on stage, you perform and get an immediate reaction to what you’re doing; there’s an exchange of energy that happens in an instant - you know if you’re killing it or not basically. Being a photographer is much more solitary and apart from client’s feedback and some online comments, you don’t really see and feel people interacting with your work. I was at the gallery every day and it was fascinating to watch people go around the exhibition, discuss their different favourites, make up stories behind the photos and see things I never noticed or considered myself.

Would I do it again? Probably. Not in the nearest future anyway. For the time being, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came and saw “People” and to those who made it possible in the first place. I’m leaving you with some images taken during the preparations for it:

Brooks Williams

I met Brooks Williams in November 2018 when I was photographing him and Rab Noakes for their joint tour. We got on very well and when Brooks was finishing work on his latest solo album “Work My Claim” last summer, he got in touch asking me to shoot the album promo. The photos were taken in a back alley in Finnieston as well as Kyoti Recording Studio. Have a look:

GEAR
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 50mm f1.4
Neewer 120cm Octabox
Profoto A1
Profoto Air Remote TTL-N for Nikon

Barbra Kolasinski

Barbra Kolasinski is a luxury Scottish womenswear brand - her stuff is beautiful, colourful and unique. She’s also a friend of mine - we met on a shoot a while back and hit it off. I love her use of colour and textures in her work and wanted to photograph her for some time. We finally made it happen this summer - check out some of the images below.

GEAR
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 50mm f1.4
Profoto A1 + Air Remote TTL-N for Nikon
Neewer 120cm Octabox
Nikon FM + 50mm f1.4
Kodak 400 TX

Christine Bovill Album Promo

I've written about working with Christine Bovill, the chanteuse supreme, on a couple of occasions (here and here) but we actually go way back. When I was a student in the early 2000s, I used to work at this Italian coffee shop in Finnieston called Espresso. Christine may be best known for singing in French but she also has a soft spot for all things Italian and was a frequent visitor at the café as she lived nearby (she named her debut album Derby Street after all). Eventually, I quit that job, Christine moved flats and we lost touch for a decade or so until we bumped into each other at a function in the summer of 2013 (she was singing, I was taking pictures). After so many years it took us a while to figure out how we knew each other but it eventually clicked - Espresso! What followed was not only a brilliant working relationship but also a treasured friendship.

When Christine Bovill was getting ready to release her sophomore album The Sentence That I Serve, I was brought on board to oversee the whole visual side of the project - from photographing the recording process as well as the single/album covers to designing the CD packaging and finally filming the EPK. It was a lot of work but I couldn't have been happier to be involved.

EPK Video:

Recording/Rehearsals (with The Strange Blue Dreams):

Single Cover Shoot:

Album Cover Shoot:

The Scullery Bar & Kitchen

The Scullery is one of those places which despite having been open for only a few months already feels like a staple of Finnieston life. Maybe it's just because I visit it so frequently - it's practically on my door step, I'm in love with the decor and it doesn't hurt that their food is really good. I was first asked to photograph their interiors early summer last year when it was all still work in progress. I've since been back to capture the restaurant in its full, finished glory. Have a look at some of the before and after shots below and make sure to stop by if you happen to be in Finnieston area.

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The Scullery Bar & Kitchen
10 Claremont Street
Glasgow G3 7HA